Kansas City dropped Friday’s match to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in a 0-1 defeat.
The first 15 minutes showed promise for the offense and the remastered squad, where they attempted five total shots while keeping South Dakota State scoreless. In that timespan, senior midfielder Emma Wilson kept the team aggressive, attempting two of the five shots.
However, it wasn’t long until South Dakota State found a way to score.
After a Roo substitution, a foul was called on freshman midfielder Kayda Kamolz. It set up a key free kick for the Jackrabbits. Suddenly, South Dakota State’s junior forward Maya Hansen found the back of the net for a goal.
Kansas City and South Dakota State found themselves in a tug-of-war battle of defense for the remainder of the match. One of the Roos key defensive players, sophomore Mackenzie Caldwell accounted for seven of the match’s 13 total saves. The rest of the unit pressed South Dakota State aggressively, and never gave up another score to their powerhouse opponents.
While the defense did its job, the offense put its heart and soul out there. With 15 total shots (six on goal), there was an abundance of chances for Kansas City to tie or win the game. However, the Roos were never able to capitalize and remained scoreless the entire match.
This loss hurts in particular for Kansas City. They were able to keep toe-to-toe with an excellent conference team. The Roos looked dangerous during many parts of the game, with both sides of the ball looking balanced for the first time. If the free kick sailed to the outer part of the box, the team would’ve had plenty of momentum to deliver an upset.
Regardless of the outcome, the Roos should be proud of their performance.
The team’s progress will continue to show as the season progresses. At 4-9-0, (2-1 in the Summit League) Kansas City still has a chance to get back to the .500 side of things. The Roos will travel to Colorado on Oct. 15 to face the 7-5 Denver Pioneers at 1 p.m. They will also look to add another win against Omaha on Oct. 17.
